Retaining device for hydrant caps



(No Model.)

S. F.v ROSSE. RBTAINING DEVICE POR HYDRANT CAPS.

No. 489,329. Patented Jan. 3, 1893.

ATTORNEYS.

UNrrnD STATES l ATENT trice.

SALISBURY FRANCIS ROSSE, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

RETAINING DEVICE FOR HYDRANT CAPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 489,329, dated January 3, 1893. Application filed April Z3, 1892. Seria] No. 430,372. (No model.)

T0 all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, SALISBURY FRANCIS ROSSE, of Sedalia, iu the county of Pettis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Auseful Improvement in Retaining Devices for Hydrant-Oaps, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in retaining devices for hydrant caps, and has forits object to provide a device which will be simple, durable and economic, and capable of attachment to any hydrant audits cap, the device being so formed that the cap may be expeditiously and conveniently screwed upon or unscrewed from the nozzle of the hydrant without the retaining device interfering in the least with the proper action of the cap.

Another object of the invention is to provide a retaining device which will effectually retain the cap in connection with the hydrant when the said cap hasv been unscrewed from its nozzle.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims. y

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar ligures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a hydrant, illustrating the application of the device thereto; Fig. 2 is a vertical section througha portion of the hydrant, its nozzle and cap, and the retaining device being shown in connection with the cap and hydrant, said device being illustrated partially in section; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the retaining band or link; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view thereof.

Heretofore hydrant caps have been connected to hydrant bodies by means of chains, and the chains frequently become rusty and will not turn around the cap, therefore, when an attempt is made to unscrew a cap, the chain connected therewith kinks or twists in such manner as to retard the operation.

It is the prime object of this invention to overcome such difficulties and to provide an attaching medium which will act etfectually to connect a cap with a hydrant but will not in the least interfere with the operation of the cap during the lifetime of either.

The principal factor in the invention is a retaining bar or link A. rlhis bar is curved at its center in such manner that its extremities are out of vertical alignment, as shown in Fig. 4, the lower extremity 10, being adapted for engagement with the outer face' of the hydrant post 1l, and the upper extremity 12 of the bar or link being adapted to stand some distance from the outside of the hydrant post and engage with a cap B. In each extremity of the retaining bar or link a slot is produced, preferably elongated, said slots being designated respectively as 13 and 14. The cap B, may be of the usual construction, and is provided with a stud or pin 15, extending outward from its outer face. This stud or pin is threaded to receive a lock nut 16, the said nut being usually provided with a flange 17, as illustrated in Figs. land 2. The pin 15 .of the cap is passed through the slot 13 in the upper extremity of the bar or link. The lock nut is then screwed to place,'and sufticient space will be obtained between the flange of the nut and the outer face of the cap to permit the retaining link or bar to readily turn upon the pin of the cap, as is best shown in Fig. 2.

The lower end of the retaining bar or link is secured to the hydrant post 11,in anysuitable or approved manner. The method of attachment illustrated in the drawings consists of passing a set screw 18, through the lower slot 14 in the hydrant post, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2; but a staple or lug may be formed upon the hydrant post adapted to pass through the lower slot in the retaining bar or link, in which event a key, a pad-lock, or any equivalent thereof is passed through the staple, or an eye in the lug, outside of the bar.

The slots in the ends of the retaining bar or link allovrr it to be adjusted vertically if occasion may demand. It is therefore evident that the upper slot 13 need not be necessarily elongated, as under ordinary circumstances a sufficient adjustment of the bar or link A can be obtained through the medium of its lower fastening device and its lower slot.

It is evident that as the cap can turn freely ICO in the retainingbaror link, the latter will not interfere in the least with the expeditious or convenient manipulation of the cap to screw it upon or to u nscrew it from the nozzle; and it is further evident that after the cap has been unscrewed it may be dropped and of its own Weight will fall down and will then be held suspended, yet in connection with the post, by means of the bar A. p

The objections to the use of chains as an attaching medium between the hydrant post and the cap is rst, that they naturally will kink even when in good condition when the cap is to be removed, and second, besides their natural tendency to kink when in use, the swivel or link around the neck of the hydrant cap becomes rusty and set to the neck of the cap, which will kink the chain when an attempt is made to open the hydrant. Either or both of these two causes break the chain or retard or prevent the unscrewing of the cap.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,-

l. The combination, with a hydrant post l1, and a cap adapted for application to its nozzle, of a bar attached to the post and having a swivel connection with the cap, as shown and described, whereby the latter is adapted for rotation as required to secure it to or detach it from the nozzle, as specified.

2. The combination,with a hydrant cap, of a retaining link orbar pivotally connected at one end with the cap, the other end of the bar beingT carried out of the vertical plane of the end connected with the cap, and a means, substantially as shown and described, for connecting the unattached end with the hydrant post, as and for the purpose set forth.

SALISBURY FRANCIS ROSSE.

Witnesses:

TOM DoNoHUE, M. K. ANDREWS. 

